In Loving Memory

I have been meaning to do this for awhile, but this time of year is so crazy, that it has been hard to find a spare moment to sit down and actually write it. I’m going to apologize in advance because this is long (and seriously don’t feel like you have to read all of it) but I like to use my blog as a kind of journal for myself and I want to remember the things that have happened in the last week. So here it goes…
Last Wednesday, my grandpa on my Mom’s side passed away from bone cancer. A few months ago he went to the doctor because he was having back pain that he thought was from a work injury. But after doing a bunch of tests, they told him they were pretty sure it was cancer and that it had already spread throughout most of his bones. He was in a lot of pain for awhile and it was sad to think of him suffering because he was always such a strong man. This is his obituary that ran in the paper on Saturday and Sunday:

Bruce Scrowther 1932 ~ 2008 Verner Bruce Scrowther passed away peacefully at his daughter's home, surrounded by loved ones, December 3, 2008. He was born February 28, 1932 in Smithfield, Utah to Verner LeGrand and Viola Bingham Scrowther. He attended North Cache High School in Richmond, Utah where he lettered in football. He served four years in the United States Navy; two of them were during the Korean War. He loved to sing and was part of a Barber Shop Quartet for several years. He enjoyed dancing and never missed a chance to take a twirl with his sweetheart, Linda, on the dance floor. He was an avid bowler, participating in The World Senior Olympic Games in St. George, UT, winning numerous medals. His profession was a craftsman in the flooring industry. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as a temple worker at the Jordan River Temple. He is survived by his wife of 12 years, Linda; step children: Lisa Wallace, Leslie (Brad) Lund and Lyn Mortensen; seven children with Carole Maxfield, later divorced; daughters: Terri (Robert) Everill, Debbie (Joseph) Knorr, Linda (Gregory) Smith, Marilyn (Kurt) Markus, Susan (Ammon) Warby, Wendy (Shawn) Smart; son, David Scrowther; 30 grandchildren;11 great grandchildren; sister, Sharon Mason, Arizona; brother, Ned (Nancy) Scrowther. He is preceded in death by his wives, Gloria Warmoth and RaNae Barton; parents, Verner and Viola Scrowther; sisters, Colleen Sugden and LaNae Scrowther; daughter, Cynthia Jane. Special thanks to Hospice of Utah. Funeral services will be held Monday, December 8, 2008, at the LDS Church,1600 East Buttercup Dr. (10075 So.). A viewing will be held Sunday, 6-8 p.m. at McDougal Funeral Home, 4330 South Redwood Road. Interment, West Jordan City Cemetery.

The Sunday before he died my family went over to my aunt’s house to visit him and that was really hard for me. When we first walked in the door my thought was “I don’t think I want to do this.” I haven’t had a close family member die since I was little, so I was just not sure I how to handle the whole situation. Seeing him in his hospital bed was so hard. He had lost so much weight and just wasn’t the Grandpa I remembered. At one point he tried to wake up and turn on his hearing aide, but was having a really hard time, and he couldn’t get one of his eyes to open so he was trying to lift his eye lid wit his finger and that made me so sad. So I waved and said hi to him and had to leave the room. He was also having a really hard time remembering who people were and kept forgetting people’s names, but my mom told me that when she visited him the next day he had remembered that I had been there, so I was really glad that I went.
We have had some family come in town for his funeral and it was nice to spend time with them. We sat around together, telling stories, and I learned a lot of new things about my grandpa. My mom and her sisters were also able to share some really cool experiences that they have had with my grandpa in the last weeks of his life and it was so amazing to hear them. One of my favorite stories is that my grandpa really hated to take his medicine because he didn’t like the taste of if. So after my aunt would give it to him, he would chase it down with a spoon full of sugar. Well my grandpa has always loved to sing, so he would sing that song when my aunt would give him his medicine every day.
His funeral services were really nice and there were so many wonderful things said about him. My aunt asked each of her 6 siblings to share their favorite memory of my grandpa and then during her talk she shared those experiences with us. Some of the stories were so funny and others were very sweet. When we went to our cars to go to the cemetery it was freezing cold and snowing on top of that. The services at the cemetery we amazing, despite the frigid cold! My grandpa was in the navy so the RVA was there to help with his internment. There was a bagpipe player that played Amazing Grace while the pallbearers carried the casket to the site and it was so incredible. After the prayer was said the RVA took over and did their part, which included a gun salute, the playing of Taps and folding of an American flag. One of my cousins is in the army so he actually got to help with that part of the service and it was such a neat thing to see. He’s not an emotional guy, so when I saw him crying right at the very beginning, I lost it. When the flag was folded, he kneeled in front of my Step Grandma and said “On behalf of the President of the United States, thank you for the service of your loved one” and then saluted her and handed her the flag. I can’t even think of the right words to explain how I felt at that moment. The bagpipe player started playing again and we took roses and laid them on top of his casket as we left.
Later that day, in honor of my grandpa’s love for bowling, we went to the lanes in Sandy and bowled for a few hours. It was so much fun spending time with family, laughing and just having fun. Each of my grandpa’s kids took a turn using his bowling ball and that was really fun to see, even though most of them were not strong enough to roll it the right way and had to granny style it!
So even though it is sad he is gone, I know that I will get to see him again. I’m also glad that he is free from the pain that his cancer caused him, and that he can finally rest of work and everything else he worried about! And I also know how much happier he is now! He had so many people on the other side waiting for him and I’m sure they are all celebrating his return! And I wouldn’t be surprised if my grandpa was trying to set up some kind of angel’s bowling league!